- Sam Bankman-Fried has made an appeal for bail from the Bahamanian court.
- The judge has denied Bankman-Fried’s bail request due to any chances of flight risk.
- Bankman-Fried intends to fight to avoid being extradited to the US.
A Bahamanian judge has ordered that the ex-FTX exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried be held in jail while his legal team battles to keep him out of the United States. The Bahamian court refused bail to the alleged FTX founder and decided to keep him in custody.
In detail, Bahamas Chief Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt denied Bankman-Fried’s request for jail release on $250,000 bond, instead ordering him sentenced to prison.
The Bahamas’ attorney general and minister of legal affairs, Ryan Pinder, said in a statement recently that the US “is likely to request his extradition.” On this note, Bankman-Fried’s legal advisors have stated in the Bahamas Magistrate Court that if extradition to the United States is sought, Bankman-Fried will oppose it.
The founder of the bankrupt exchange is facing a total of eight federal criminal charges from the Justice Department in the United States, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers and lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities and securities fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States, and violation of campaign finance laws.
In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a formal indictment, alleging that Bankman-Fried devised a plan to defraud stock investors in FTX. The investigation is still underway according to the SEC.
The Department of Justice spokesman said,
Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators made millions in political contributions funded by Alameda Research to federal political candidates and committees in advance of the 2022 election.
As part of Bankman-Fried’s scheme to conceal the fact that contributions were paid for with corporate funds and to evade contribution limits and reporting requirements, contributions were reported in the names of co-conspirators instead of the names of the actual source of the funds.
Moreover, Bankman-Fried’s extradition hearing is scheduled for February 8, 2023. The US Justice Department stated in its indictment that each of the eight allegations against Bankman-Fried carries a potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison. According to prosecutors, if found guilty on all charges, Bankman-Fried may face a maximum sentence of 115 years.
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